Shadi Fadda brings us today's headlines relating to Palestine and other news from around the internet.
Land Theft and Destruction
IOF troops bulldoze land in Gaza, detain Jerusalemites for planting olives
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) advanced east of Shujaia suburb in Gaza city afternoon Tuesday and bulldozed Palestinian plantations, local sources said.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Farmers prevented from planting trees
Hebron – Ma'an – Two Palestinians and one child were injured on Tuesday as Israeli forces prohibited farmers from tending to their land in Safa village in the northern Hebron governorate, solidarity workers said. "While the farmers were planting olive trees, Israeli forces attacked them and clashes erupted between both sides," said media spokesman for the Palestine Solidarity Project Mohammad Awad.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
New IOA scheme to confiscate 70% of Wadi Hilwa in OJ
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) controlled municipality of occupied Jerusalem has endorsed a new scheme that would confiscate 70% of Wadi Hilwa valley in the holy city.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
After a month long detention in Israeli jails, Jamal Juma is free
Jamal Juma' comments upon his release: “Like for the other Palestinian human rights defenders in Israeli jails, there was never a case in the courtroom. Not a single charge has been put forth. The reason for my arrest was purely political – an attempt to crush Stop the Wall and the popular committees against the Wall. Therefore, the reasons for my release are also outside the courtroom: The impressive support of international civil society has moved governments and used the media to an extent that made our imprisonment too uncomfortable. This international solidarity has given our popular struggle against the Wall further strength. We are deeply thankful for all the efforts. Yet, the latest arrests and continuous repression show that we have not yet defeated the Israeli policy as such, as Israel remains determined to silence Palestinian human rights defenders by all means. We therefore need to ensure that the campaign for the freedom of all anti-wall activists and Palestinian political prisoners continues to grow. We have to combine our energies to ensure that the root cause – the Wall – will be torn down and the occupation will be brought to an end.”
http://www.palestinemonitor.
Activist from Bil’in village arrested in night raid
At 3:20am three Israeli army jeeps and many soldiers invaded Bil’in to arrest 21-year-old Yaseen Mohammad Yaseen. In the last six months the military has come to his home numerous times attempting to take him into custody. He is one of many activists arrested for attending weekly non-violent demonstrations. Yassen had been avoiding his home in Bil’in for the last six months; only making short visits to see his friends and family. He had only been in the village for two days before tonight’s arrest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/
Israel's military crack down on nonviolent, anti-wall protest organizers in the West Bank
Israeli troops kidnapped four men on Tuesday, during invasions targeting a number of areas in the West Bank. All four are members of the local Popular Committees Against the Wall and Settlement construction in their villages.
http://www.imemc.org/index.
50 European MPs to visit Gaza
Europe, January 12, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The largest delegation of European MPs will visit the besieged Gaza Strip, in Friday, to be updated with the conditions in Gaza after a year of the Israeli war which left thousands of victims. "The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza," said in a statement: "It has coordinated with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry concerning the visit of MPs delegation to Gaza via Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza."
http://www.paltelegraph.com/
PA sets up fund for boycotting products made in settlements
RAMALLAH - The Palestinian Authority will deposit $150,000 every month into a new fund whose goal is to remove all products made in West Bank settlements from the Palestinian market, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced Tuesday at the founding conference of the National Honor Fund.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
PA sets up fund for boycotting products made in settlements
RAMALLAH - The Palestinian Authority will deposit $150,000 every month into a new fund whose goal is to remove all products made in West Bank settlements from the Palestinian market, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced Tuesday at the founding conference of the National Honor Fund.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
‘May I interject?’ A demonstration in the landgrab that is ‘East Jerusalem’, Philip Weiss
Friday is the big day for demonstrations against the unending Israeli settlement process in Palestine and East Jerusalem. Last Friday I went to three demonstrations with Israeli friends. I’m going to tell about my day in three chapters. Here’s Chapter 1, in Palestinian lands south of Jerusalem annexed by Israel as part of the city in 1967.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/01/
Protests continue to follow Ehud Olmert, Adam Horowitz
A few months ago we followed a series of protests that followed Ehud Olmert across the country as he tried to rehabilitate his image on a US speaking tour. He is still at it, and the protests continue to follow. This Thursday, Olmert will speak at Union College in Schenectady, NY and a coalition of local organizations are planning a protest.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/01/
DAM to perform live in Sheikh Jarrah
Palestinian hip-hop artists DAM and System Ali will play live in Sheikh Jarrah Thursday, January 14, starting at 7pm. The event is being held in support of the families of Sheikh Jarrah facing eviction from their homes.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/
Tinpot tyrant ain't seen nothing yet
Galloway tells about the hells of the Egyptian regime from Viva Palestinian convoy confrontation "We may have complaints about our police, but I tell you, when you see policemen hurling half-bricks into a crowd of women and men who'd come to deliver medicine to desperate people under siege, you thank your lucky stars we don't live in such a state."
Open Letter to EU Foreign Minister Baroness Ashton
http://stopthewall.org/
Free Gaza activists to make third run
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Free Gaza Movement will send at least six boats into the besieged Strip in an attempt to break Israel's blockade, a statement released by the organizers said on Tuesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Aggression/Violence/Detainees
IOF soldiers wound 3 Palestinians, summon tens of Hamas supporters
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired rubber-coated bullets and gas canisters at Palestinian villagers in Beit Ummar, north of Al-Khalil city, on Tuesday wounding three of them.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Update on Musab Musa Raba'i, Palestinian shepherd attacked by Israeli military
Last week we passed along a report of an attack on Palestinian shepherds and representatives of US Campaign member group Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in the West Bank village of At-Tuwani. Here is an update from CPT, and some ideas for action.
http://endtheoccupationblog.
Israel phones families of prisoners to incite them to press Hamas
The ministry of prisoners said that Israel contacted lately families of long-serving detainees from Gaza to incite them to pressure Hamas to soften its demands regarding the prisoner swap deal.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Children of Nablus Municipality member detained at Allenby
Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli troops detained the son and daughter of member of the Nablus Municipality Khulud Al-Masry late Tuesday night at the Allenby Bridge crossing, as they returned from a visit to Jordan, Al-Masry told Ma'an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Human Rights/Siege/War on Gaza
Palestinian asks Quartet for human rights measures
January 12th, 2010-- Today at 11:00 AM, representatives of political parties, NGOs, and grassroots organizations, joined by activists and supporters, were gathering to have a symbolic hand over the UN Compound in Ramallah to deliver a letter to the Quartet stating their demands.
http://stopthewall.org/
Riz Khan - GAZAS OPEN WOUNDS
A year has gone by since Israel launched a crushing military offensive against the 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. For 22 days in December 2008 and January 2009, Israel bombed the territory from the air, land and sea, killing 1,400 Palestinians. Thirteen Israelis were killed during the war. Israeli officials gave many reasons for the war, including a stop to the Palestinian missile attacks launched from Gaza, ending the illicit tunnel trade between Egypt and the Palestinians, and even, at one point, ending Hamas' control of Gaza. The United Nations found that both Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes in the course of the fighting. Israel was accused of deliberately targeting civilians, industrial sites and water installations, and using disproportionate force to destroy civilian property and infrastructure. Hamas was criticized for using civilians as human shields, and for firing rockets into Israel to spread fear among Israeli civilians. A year on, Palestinians have largely not been able to rebuild their homes, schools, ministries, water and sanitation networks, roads or hospitals largely due to the ongoing Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip. In this episode, Riz takes a closer look at the human toll of the war. He speaks with Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish, a Palestinian gynecologist who practiced medicine in Israel and Gaza, and who was well known to Israelis as a peace activist. He lost three daughters and a niece when the Israeli military bombed his home in Gaza 20 days into the war. Riz also speaks with Eyad Sarraj, a prominent Palestinian human rights activist from Gaza who also heads the efforts to reconcile the two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Sonja Karkar – Israel Must be Held to Account for the Misery in Gaza
World, Jauary 4, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – They came one cold December day. Not fearless warriors but fearsome hoardes hell-bent on destruction of the genocidal kind that leaves no room for regeneration. That was one year ago in Gaza. The attack shocked a complacent world into finally seeing Israel's merciless ferocity against the Palestinians already hounded, herded and imprisoned in compounds throughout their land, if not actually driven out. More than sixty years of Western devotion to Israel's security was blown wide open as truth shattered spin in three weeks of carnage and devastation.
http://palestinethinktank.com/
Egypt's Humanitarian War against Gazans
AOHR: Egypt hunts and kills Gaza tunnel workmen every week
The Arab organization for human rights (AOHR) in Britain revealed that the Egyptian authorities every week hunt and kill the Palestinian workmen inside Gaza tunnels through spraying poison gas.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Hamas seeks to lower tension with Egypt, Israel (Reuters)
Reuters - Hamas in Gaza tried to ease tension with Israel and Egypt Tuesday, urging other Palestinians to stop firing rockets into the Jewish state and promising Cairo answers over the shooting of an Egyptian soldier at the border.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Hamas: The Egyptian soldier was not killed by Palestinian gunfire
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Tuesday that the Egyptian soldier who was shot dead during the recent events in Rafah area was not killed by Palestinian gunfire.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Bardawil denies Haneyya had asked to visit Egypt
Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil has said that PA premier Ismail Haneyya did not ask to visit Cairo, explaining that he rather called for a direct meeting between Hamas and Egyptian officials.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Nunu: Besieging parties want the siege on Gaza to blackmail the gov’t
Spokesman for the government Taher Al-Nunu stated that some international and regional besieging parties want to retain the blockade on Gaza in order to blackmail the government politically.
U.S. Continues to Support the Starvation of Gaza
US backs plan for Egypt's wall with Gaza (AFP)
AFP - The United States Tuesday voiced its support for a wall being built by Egypt to block a network of tunnels stretching out from the Gaza Strip, arguing it would stop arms smuggling.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Political Developments
Hamas wants rocket fire halt to avoid Israeli retaliation
PM Haniyeh says upholding unofficial truce vital to protect Gazans from 'any possible Israeli aggression'; says Islamist group investigating fatal shooting of Egyptian soldier during border riots to 'ensure Palestinian-Egyptian relations are protected'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Abbas calls for settlement freeze 'for a fixed period' (AFP)
AFP - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Tuesday said for the first time that he might restart peace negotiations with Israel if it froze settlement expansion for a "fixed period."
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Palestinian PM rejects Israel incitement charge (Reuters)
Reuters - Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad rejected Israeli accusations that he had "incited" hostility to the Jewish state, saying on Tuesday that Israel had made the claims to dodge its own obligations under a peace plan.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Turkey demands apology from Israel for envoy's treatment (AFP)
AFP - Turkey summoned Israel's ambassador to Ankara Tuesday to demand an apology over the treatment of its own envoy to Tel Aviv as a row between the regional allies over a television drama series escalated.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Turkish ambassador says may leave Israel
Celikkol tells MK El-Sana he is scheduled to return to Ankara for consultations regarding recent diplomatic incident and that he may not come back. Arab MK: Deputy FM's conduct 'disgraceful'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Turkey says again Israel Gaza attack hurt peace
* Turkish minister says ties cooled due to Gaza attack
* Says they could improve if Israel works for peace
http://www.alertnet.org/
ANALYSIS / The Turkish FM 'has never been more humiliated'
The notice issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry last October announcing the appointment of Ahmet Oguz Celikkol as ambassador to Israel filled him with joy. Celikkol, among the Turkish Foreign Ministry's senior officials, had visited Israel a number of times as part of his duties as head of the Middle Eastern division and hoped to get to know the country from up close.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Ayalon to 'behave diplomatically' in future
Deputy foreign minister doesn't apologize for controversial behavior in reprimand meeting with Turkish envoy to Israel, but says 'will clarify position in diplomatically acceptable ways in future'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Israel FM calls on Turkey to show 'respect' (AFP)
AFP - Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Wednesday that Israel had no desire to fall out with traditional ally Turkey but called on Ankara to show reciprocal "dignity and respect."
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Other News
Barakeh storms out of Yad Vashem lecture
As part of delegation to travel to Poland on anniversary of Auschwitz liberation, Hadash chairman attends lecture on contemporary anti-Semitism at Holocaust remembrance museum, but storms out when lecturer points finger at communists, Arabs, says lecturer 'belittling Holocaust'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Israeli Firm Responsible for Amsterdam Airport Security Where Terrorist Boarded Aircraft
An Israeli firm is responsible for security inspections in the airport in Schiphol, Holland, the airport where Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boarded the Airbus 330 heading for Detroit (USA). The Israeli company, ICTS, is reportedly one of the leaders in security, & operates in Amsterdam and a number of other European countries.
http://theyeshivaworld.com/
Israeli firm blasted for letting would-be plane bomber slip through
The Israeli firm ICTS International and two of its subsidiaries are at the crux of an international investigation in recent days, as experts try to pinpoint the reasons for the security failure that enabled Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to board Northwest flight 253 and attempt to set alight explosives hidden in his underwear.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest
Making a business out of Palestine's struggle
Soliciting the support of people in the US-based Palestine solidarity movement, Palestine Note recently launched a new website that aspires to become the online hub for all things Palestine. While the website announces its dedication to "news, stories and views about Palestine and Palestinians," and its aspiration to become a "cultivator of community," The Electronic Intifada contributor Yaman Salahi finds there is more behind the enterprise than meets the eye.
http://electronicintifada.net/
What Did You Do to Them, Ya Jamal?
Whenever an Israeli journalist interviews a Palestinian, the former forgets he is a journalist and out of habit transforms himself into an interrogator: in the best case, he argues without asking any questions. It is not surprising that at some stage, MK Zahalkha says “you are an interviewer, ask me questions and don’t’ say ‘impertinent’!” There is additional common ground amongst these three cases: Darwish, Bishara and Zahalka are three Palestinian citizens of Israel. In the eyes of Margalit and those of his ilk, those they called “Israeli Arabs” owe the Jewish state a double debt: because they were allowed to remain in their homeland, and not become refugees like a majority of their people, and because they enjoy the fruits of that same Jewish state, including civil rights. Instead of waking up every morning and singing the praises of the Israeli democracy, MK Zahalkha and others like him expose its acts beyond the Green Line and demand equality within the Green Line.
http://www.alternativenews.
Much-Awaited Crucial Israeli Steps
So Barrack Obama does not want to use his stick, much as this approach has been effective in the past especially in settling Arab-Israeli disputes. This was clearly pointed out by his special Middle East envoy, George J. Mitchell, when he recalled that recent U.S. presidents have done so with notable success.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Patience?, Hatim Khatib
Oh, the sheer luxury and satisfaction of demonstrating for others. It's nearly the same as caring for the sick when the caretaker is in the most excellent health. It’s a cleansing exercise, bounteous in its healing powers of the soul and conscience. It is especially recreative and morally empowering when the practitioner chooses cathartic causes with appeal and history, and more especially so when he or she, achieving absolution, retires to opulence and security far removed from the dangers and perils to which those for whom he had demonstrated are condemned. I wish I could, in my lifetime, have the chance to demonstrate without being the subject of the demonstration.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Shlaim's Israel and Palestine - Book Review
This is a thought provoking if not fully developed work on the ongoing situation in Palestine/Israel. Avi Shlaim has compiled a set of his writings from previous publications that in a broad way cover the events of the region, with a brief look at the Balfour Declaration before jumping forward to look at the UN Partition Plan of 1947 and its resulting sequence of events.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Iraq
Suicide truck bomber kills 7 people west of Baghdad (AFP)
AFP - A suicide truck bomber on Wednesday killed seven people, five of them Iraqi policemen, and wounded six others including a young child west of Baghdad, security officials said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Tuesday: 5 Iraqis Killed, 5 Wounded; Massive Security Sweep
A massive security sweep in Baghdad has suppressed news reports in Iraq. The operation which government officials say was against a bomb plot even drowned out the stunning assessment that Dutch involvement in the Iraq War was illegal.
http://original.antiwar.com/up
Living in Limbo: Iraqi Young Women and Men in Jordan
More than six years after the start of the war in Iraq, it appears that a significant number of Iraqis will remain in Jordan for the foreseeable future. This longer-term, protracted refugee situation is likely to lead to decreased international support. In view of this, Iraqi refugees living in Jordan should be granted some type of temporary residency status and the restrictions on their right to work should be eased. The international community should continue to support Jordanian services that have been extended to Iraqis, such as education. Resources should also be channeled to promote greater economic opportunities for both Iraqi refugees and host communities.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/
Lebanon
Israel tries to block military aid from Lebanon
BEIRUT: Israel has launched a diplomatic campaign aimed at countries providing military assistance to Lebanon, warning that any weapons or equipment given to Beirut will end up in Hizbullah’s hands, according to Israeli media. The Jerusalem Post, citing Israeli government sources, reported on Monday that Tel Aviv is calling on the international community to rethink supporting the Lebanese Army.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Sleiman: Lebanon Maintains Right to Liberate Land by All Means
12/01/2010 Lebanese President Michel Sleiman reiterated on Tuesday Lebanon's stance holding onto the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees, recalling that Lebanon managed through its people, army, and resistance to force Israel to withdraw from most of the territories of the South. "Today, Lebanon maintains its right to liberate the occupied Lebanese territories of the northern part of Ghajar village, Kfarshouba Hills, and Shabaa Farms through all legitimate and available means," President Sleiman said. "Lebanon also reiterates its commitment to pursue the implementation of UNSCR 1701 with all of its compliances," the President added.
http://almanar.com.lb/
Robert Fisk: Western media fails to report 'real horrors of war'
Veteran Middle East correspondent, Robert Fisk, as he notes in one of his books, has lived a "charmed but dangerous life."He has been a resident of the Beirut seafront for 34 years, covering the 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War and its numerous atrocities, most memorably the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre of Palestinian refugees by Christian militias and their Israeli Army allies.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Arab and other world news
Iran blames US and Israel for scientist's killing
Iran yesterday blamed the US and Israel for the killing of a nuclear scientist who died when a remote-controlled bomb exploded outside his home in Tehran.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/
EGYPT: Signs of rising sectarian tension
CAIRO Wednesday, January 13, 2010 (IRIN) - A 6 January drive-by shooting on a Coptic Christian congregation leaving midnight mass on their Christmas Eve in Nagaa Hammadi, southern Egypt, has focused attention on decades-old tensions between Muslims and Christians in Egypt.
http://www.irinnews.org/
Jordan demands return of Dead Sea Scrolls 'seized' by Israel
Jordan has asked the UN to force Israel to hand over Dead Sea Scrolls, which it says Israel stole.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
U.S.
Pizza shop heckler: Bush Sr. a ‘murderous, Zionist piece of shit’
"Murderous, Zionist piece of shit," the man said as he filmed the scene. Bush's entourage of guards quickly turned and began walking toward the camera.
http://rawstory.com/2010/01/
www.TheHeadlines.org
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